PhD Student Ralphe Submits NIH NRSA Fellowship Application

Kudos to Jane Ralphe, PhD student and her advisors for the submission of her NIH NRSA Fellowship application entitled "Exploring the Association Between Longitudinal Body Temperature Instability and Respiratory Morbidity in the Very Premature Infant." This proposal requests funds for an 18-month period with a start date of July 1, 2019. 

With an incidence rate of about 50%, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the number one complication of the very low birthweight (VLBW) infant (<1500 g). BPD is the abnormal development of alveoli and lung vasculature following premature delivery. It can double the cost of an infant’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay, and is associated with additional morbidities such as: developmental disability, growth retardation, and pulmonary hypertension. BPD is considered multifactorial in etiology. Hypothermia and hyperthermia during the early hours of life are risk factors, yet the relationship between longitudinal body temperature instability and BPD has yet to be examined.

The specific aims of this study are to: 1) Examine the relationship between body hypothermia (<36.5oC), hyperthermia (>37.2oC), and central-peripheral temperature difference during the first two weeks of life and acute and chronic respiratory morbidity within each VLBW infant case; 2) Examine the temporal relationship between respiratory care interventions and body hypothermia (<36.5o C), hyperthermia (>37.2o C), and central-peripheral temperature difference over the first five days of life within each VLBW infant case. This will be the first study to examine the relationship between longitudinal body temperature instability and respiratory morbidity in VLBW infants, and the first to describe the relationship between respiratory care interventions and infant body temperature. If as believed, ongoing temperature instability increases the risk for respiratory morbidity, and respiratory interventions contribute to temperature instability, data from this study will be used to design future intervention studies intended to explore and minimize the negative impact of respiratory care interventions on infant body temperature; therefore, reducing respiratory morbidity by improving longitudinal temperature stability.